Sunday’s lineup : Many moves, most notably 2B Charlie Culberson called up and in lineup (updated)

No second day of Blanco-Belt, as could have been predicted. Need Pill’s pop in the cleanup spot with Posey sitting, so it’s somewhat understandable. But at least Blanco’s in there again:
RF Blanco

3B Arias

LF Cabrera

1B Pill

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CF Pagan

C Sanchez

2B Culberson

SS Crawford

P Zito

Before the game, Jeremy Affledt was activated from the DL, Charlie Culberson added to the roster from Triple-A Fresno, Conor Gillaspie optioned to Frez and Travis Blackley designated for assignment. Good bet Blackley will stay in the organization unless claimed.

Bochy was in much better spirits this morning. When asked about his starting infield of Pill, Culberson, Crawford and Arias, with Sanchez behind the plate, Bochy said with a grin, “Hey, I love young players. Gotta change that stigma.”

With Joaquin Arias having solidified third base for the time being in Pablo Sandoval’s absence, the Giants are now going to work on second base. Culberson will make his major-league debut today and he flew out his entire family on a moment’s notice from his hometown of Rome, Georgia.

“I found out late last night, it was definitely unexpected,” he said.

Asked how much sleep he got, he said, “None, really. That’s no big deal. I’ll be running on adrenalin today.”

Culberson said his mother and father, sister, brother-in-law and two nieces scrambled to get late-night flights from Georgia to see his major-league debut. His wife made the trip with him from Fresno.

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“They told me that whenever this happened that no matter what, they’d be here,” he said. “They got online, got a flight and they’re here.”

Culberson, 23, was hitting .284 with five homers at Fresno. He has made a steady climb in his six-years with the organization after being a being a first-round selection (51st overall) in the 2007 June amateur draft. He appears to have made some adjustments in his stroke. He struck out 129 times at Double-A Richmond last year, but so far this season, had only fanned 28 times in 151 at-bats in Triple-A.

The Giants have had serious offensive woes at second base and hope Culberson can strike a good balance between offense and defense. Emmanuel Burriss will still get some time there with Ryan Theriot on the disabled list, but this is a real opportunity for another kid a bit overshadowed amid all the other young talent the Giants have had in their system. With Culberson here, Bochy said it’s also a possibility Burriss could play more short to spell the struggling Brandon Crawford and also play third.

Bochy has been very happy with Arias, and Saturday night’s sensational play certainly added to his stock.

“It’s been a silver lining with Pablo’s injury that he’s done a nice job at third base and really picked us up there,” he said.

Can lightning strike twice at second with Culberson?

“He’s been playing well, doing a good job at second base on the pivot and his range, and he’s swinging the bat well,” Bochy said. “He stays in the middle of the field. He does a nice job with the hitting. It’d be nice to get some offense there along with defense.”

Buster Posey gets the day off today — much needed, Bochy admitted, and he added that the surgically repaired ankle ligament has been acting up. “Just a little cranky,” he said. “Not bad, but enough where he needs a day.”

Bochy admitted the decision between Belt and Pill at first base was a tough one today. But Pill just gives too much potential for a big blow, and he’s still clearly calling in his markers on that home run off Clayton Kershaw earlier in the week.

“Particularly today, with Buster not in there,” Bochy said. “I know Belt’s been getting some better swings off left-handers and he’s had some hits off this guy (Joe Saunders), but I just felt we need a threat there in the four spot and Pill gives us that. It was a tough call between those two today.”

interesting lineup…hope its a good day in the infield with all the new kids. lets go giants!!

JD4SF

Thanks, Carl!

Tumorseal

I’ve never seen Culberson play, so this will be interesting.

Pill versus Belt

Belt vs lefties: .333/.410/.519

Pill vs lefties: .228/.279/.439

Bochy’d

Atlas

Fellow fans, in case you didn’t see this before, I’m raising dough for the Junior Giants. I learned only $500 puts a whole team of 20 kids on the field for an entire season. I love baseball and this cause just makes sense.

Check out my page on why I’m doing this and chip in if you dig. Even the tiniest bit goes a long way and with about $280, we’re just over halfway to meeting our goal.

Lineup is MOSTLY okay. Belt should have been rewarded for his two-runs produced last night and for having previously gone 3 for 4 vs. Saunders.

Culberson should be given a treatment proving that Bochy likes younger players or the stigma deepens. Meaning: Steady starts at second for a week to ten days UNLESS he manages to mess up even worse than Burriss and Theriot have to date. Being worse would be quite a feat and quite unlikely, IMHO, unless Bochy gives him his patented yo-yo treatment.

The kid second-sacker is up and posted in today’s lineup. Give him some steady starts and let’s see how he does. It is still May and after what we have seen to date, what do we have to lose?

Adam

Well, at least Pill’s not in left. Eager to see culberson…go Giants!

OMT

Mom’s don’t like snakes!

Jstreet

Free the Giants! Free the Mothers!

Lunchbox

Thanks, Carl! No worries about the late post. Mamas are always important.

Observationist

Pill has 2 more HRs and the same # of RBI as Belt, in about half the PAs.

Pill produces runs. Belt hits infield grounders.

JC

No complaints. Glad they r sticking with blanco as lead off. Pill matches up vs saunders better than belt does regardless of the splits and more importantly at his normal position 1b. Go Culberson, go giants. No Burriss. Botchy or Sabes must read this blog

The best players are not playing everyday as they should. We should not expect to win with the current management and mishandling of players. Pill should play first over belt everyday, Nate should be in rf permanently, posey needs to play better, arias everyday, melky obviously and pagan 90 percent of the time with blanco some spot starts. Numbers don’t lie! Regardless of how u feel about players individually the numbers don’t lie. The only players top 5 in almost every category are melky, pagan, posey and Nate. Only player getting screwed Nate!!!! Slump or not outperforming almost everyone on the team but melky in EVERY category.

totalfan62

Reposting a comment/reply from the last thread, because I think it’s important to finish that thought…

——————————————————————

Pacman, thanks for a thoughtful and well-written reply to my post. As for the “hater” thing, it has become so prevalent that it’s hard to be as pragmatic as I should be about that. Pac, there’s A LOT of hatin’ on BCraw on this blog.

What upsets me the most is when posters say things like “I hope we lose so Bochy gets fired”, or “I hope so-and-so sucks so they’ll get rid of him”. Someone recently said “I hope Nate gets traded to Colorado so he can come back to AT&T and beat us”.

I don’t wish ill will on any of our players, and I don’t think any Giants fan should EVER wish the team loses for ANY reason. Might be my old-school way of thinking, but I think others would agree it’s also the right way of thinking. That’s a very important part of “getting it” as well.

1N HAWAII

I am not crazy about the Pill vs Belt defensively. Although I do understand Bochy’s thinking with Posey (day-off), Pablo (DL) he needs someone to bat 4th . . . . Let’s hope for good “D” , Zito always seems to need it, mainly from walks . . . . . Go G-Men, take this series , go home 3-3

Angry Dan

Observationist,

If you’re going to play the small sample size game, then here are more relevant stats:
Belt has a .347 OBP, Pill has a .304 OBP. Pill produces a higher rate of outs than Belt. That’s never a good thing.

CB

First look at Culberson. Same first name as me. New blood. Go Charlie Go Giants

Doesn’t sound like much of a prospect, but no one up here is any better at second base, so I guess worth a shot.

JC

Posey needs this day off and in a major funk offensively. Still throwing guys out. Grab some pine Bloomquist. But yea when Pablo returns so does Posey’s bat!

BleedBlack&Orange

Observationist likes to skew statistics so that they argue for him. His hipocrisy is a little obvious.

dnf

A practically unknown in front of Pagan no wonder Beltran left and Reyes did not want any part of this team besides being a stingy pockets organization not to mention these biased fans, go figure…

BBQnBLUES

totalfan…

remember that it’s always easier to critisize than it is to compliment, human nature. even your posts critisize other posters and society in general. i’m with you on crawford, i think a lot of patience will be required, but well worth it.

i’m reminded of something i was told in cooking school…serve a person a good meal and good service and you gain one regular…..serve one bad meal to someone and you lose 5 potential customers. why, because people will put something down more confidently then they wil recomend it.

dnf

25:
Hypocrisy is a contagious disease in this blog…

SpeierFuentes

Angry Dan,

Mix in 4 gift hits Belt was awarded on misplays by the defense and Belt’s OBP is actually .293. Also 2 of his walks were intentional to set up the double play. So his OBP is really .26666

His real numbers look like this

.169/.266/.276/.542 0 HR 4 RBI

The misplayed popup gift also gave him 2 freebie RBI.

BleedBlack&Orange

Glad to see Posey given the day off as many of you are as well. It is defintely needed. He has been awful lately and clearly needs to rest. Hopefully cluberson is a miracle waiting to happen cause we could use one. Hopefully zito can keep the ball down cause if he doesnt we could be seeing some recrod HRs in this park.

dnf

Kuiper:
Culbertson: defensively-average and offensively a lit bit of pop…

JD4SF

An observation for those posting stats. I find the most valuable stats are the ones indicating what that player has been doing recently. More current stats can indicate a slump or improvement trend.

Something that stats do NOT show that I consider valuable from the AB perspective is what kind of contact has that hitter been making. For example, solid contact and hard hits that result in an out to me are more promising than the dribblers and bloopers when evaluating an AB. The same is true of a player having a great AB protecting the plate or having obvious situational awareness to the benefit of the TEAM.

I forget which Giants announcer in yesterday’s game made a great observation that bears repeating. In summary, the farm system is essentially a competition to get to the next level and ultimately to MLB. Stats play a larger role in evaluation. But when the player reaches MLB they need to be thinking what would be advantageous for the TEAM’s success, not personal stats.

Stats are only a part of the MLB level evaluation … or should be. 😉

SpeierFuentes

Correction the average would be .184…that’s better

SurfCity

Conner, thanks for trying and I hope the next time we see you will be more fruitful.

Already delivered a Mothers Day present and card and thus am rightly sainted.

dnf

Crawford is babied, idolized and pampered error after error. Pagan is chastised the second he sneezes the wrong way=hypocrisy alright…

Observationist

Which stats have I skewed, BleedBlack&Orange? The stat that says 0 in Belt’s HR column, or the one that says 6 in his RBI column?

BBQnBLUES

i guess i don’t understand how the MLB draft works…30 teams…how can Culberson be a first round pick, 51st overall?

JC says:
May 13th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Posey needs this day off and in a major funk offensively. Still throwing guys out. Grab some pine Bloomquist. But yea when Pablo returns so does Posey’s bat!

Please ask Pablo to return Posey’s bat. He needs it.

BleedBlack&Orange

spier…you are ridiculous. Sure lets take away every hit and statistic from every player that you dont think they deserved, oh baseball god (thick sarcasm) When you put the ball in play things can happen. That’s a fact. I agree with you that those were a few lucky hits but that is the game of baseball. Posey was probably the weakest hitter batting over .300 in the league but I didnt see people talking about that. Stop being ridiculous.

wow just wow

captain obvious or oblivious?

dnf

Like I mentioned before Posey’s ankle is NOT fully healed. Per Papa: Posey’s ankle is cranky…

SFPhil

Belt’s lack of power is frustrating, but we’ve all seen him hit some pretty hard balls from time to time this season. Keep in mind he slugged .520-.620 in the minors over ~700 ABs, so the power is there, and I don’t think anyone doubts that. Belt can hit for power.

His slugging was weaker in the majors last season, but he did go deep 9 times over 187 ABs. That’s a better pace than anyone on the Giants so far this year with the exception of Sandoval.

Point is, it’s not likely Belt just forgot how to hit balls hard. He’s obviously had some trouble adjusting to pitching in the majors, but it’s not like he’s completely flailing. There might be a number of things going on – luck, confidence, touch matchups, flukiness – and with only 65 ABs on the year it’s hard to draw any real conclusions.

wow just wow

dnf, does that stand for “did not finish” high school? Give the anglos a break. I would like to see how latin announcers pronounces anglo names. Can you lighten up a bit?

Observationist

Angry Dan: I don’t want my first baseman being satisfied with just “reaching base.” I want him driving in runs, especially on this crapfest of an offense.

Let Crawford and Burris be satisfied with a walk or a duck snort. Belt is supposed to be better than that.

Lead Dog

If Posey ankle hurts, then rest him, Just stop making excuses for him.

BleedBlack&Orange

Observationist…using a small sample size and suggesting that if Pill were given the same ABs as Belt that he would maybe double his numbers or improve them. Its possible that he could but its also possible that Pill could disappear and bat just as poorly. I’m not saying your completely wrong but you can not draw conclusions like you did from such small sample sizes. Belt had one of the hardest hit balls I have seen him hit last night, so from that small sample size should I suggest that he has found his swing. I would love to believe that but its not likely. We need to give these players time and you have had an agenda against Belt for a while now.

wow just wow

by the way, when will people realize that Crawford and Belt are jut not big league hitters? Crawford can make spectacular plays at short but he boot routine plays. His defense is not worth his horrid bat right now. Give him one more month to work out his jitters, but then send him down to Fresno if he doesn’t produce.

Belt is overrated. You know it, and I know it.

SurfCity

JD4SF says:
May 13th, 2012 at 12:37 pm

An observation for those posting stats. I find the most valuable stats are the ones indicating what that player has been doing recently. More current stats can indicate a slump or improvement trend.

——

I agree – and I’m not sure team management always followed that this season. For example, the career stats of Huff were used as a basis to play him many times when many of the stats were from earlier days and not reflective of the last 2 years.

In the end, a manager’s decisions will be based on numerous things including stats, “hot hand”, player fatigue, player in a funk and other factors best generalized under “hunches.”

Stan

First thought..”No white belt today”..then Ohhh..Blanco.

SurfCity

Lead Dog says:
May 13th, 2012 at 12:46 pm

If Posey ankle hurts, then rest him, Just stop making excuses for him.

=====

Excuses? He had major surgery and one year of rehab so far where it’s know that full rehab will take at least 2 years.

That’s not an “excuse.” That’s a reason.

BleedBlack&Orange

WOW…can we give belt a legitimate shot before saying he can’t hit mlb pitchers. I’m not here to defend him, if he is given consistent PT and doesnt perform then TS. Too many people on this blog don’t realize that he has not been given a legitimate shot at playing in the bigs. Crawford has been given that shot. He has had consistent playing time and has had the ability to make mistakes knowing that he would still be there the next day. Belt has to have a spectacular day just to hope to play 3 or 4 consecutive days.

Nameless Bob

I have absolutely no problem witht he lineup or anything Bochy was quoted as saying. Rare.

DNF – I am not Hispanic but it bothers me too that in a sport with major participation and performance from Latin players , a great many SFG players of Latin descent and language, in a city with a Spanish name, in a state with a Spanish name – that still, somehow, the Wisconsin native Keiper feels compelled to call him “Air -ee – ahs”. Doesn’t anyone correct him? Does he ask someone for a pronunciation? Does he think he is doing his listeners a favor by Anglicizing his name? It bothers me.

OMT

dnf @12:44

You’re quoting Papa? He grabs his comments out of a bag of rocks. The bag is his skull.

Melon head

@BleedBlack&Orange

Belt will get a legitimate shot, whether it’s with the Giants or not, he will be a successful major league first basemen in the near future.

I look forward to watching him develop, and if the Giants are foolish enough to trade him, I just hope it’s to the American League so he can’t scar the Giants (although I bet he’d love to stick it to Sabesabster/Melon head)

Lead Dog

Rest him, Not a single xbh in May. PERIOD.

dnf

44:
Latin speakers as well as announcers have the same homo sapiens mouth/same vocal cords therefore there isn’t any excuse to insult the Latin players by butchering their name pronunciation. If I can pronounce Jones or Smith correctly then I should expect the same courtesy NOT arrogant bigotry. What part of that do you NOT understand? Thank you

Jeff

They are not good…we can sit and argue about who should play over whom…I went to, English class…if there was a clear answer botchy would go with it…it’s a mix-n-match because they aren’t good

Rusty

If the idea is that Pill can run into one, why put Arias in the two hole instead of Pagan who’s swinging a hot bat? Arias has been just as woeful as Crawford and Burriss lately.
Either way Zito is going to have to tap into his Coors mojo for them to have any chance.

dnf

53:
Muchas gracias señor-In English thank you very much…

sheez

Why are there so many nasty fans posting remarks about other bloggers here? Everyone has the right to observe the game in any which way possible than blog their opinion. Some like to keep track of stats and some don’t. Does that make watching or enjoying the game rong either way?

There are a lot of wanna be shot callers in this blog but realistically none of it matters outside of the actual team thats out there and plays, including mine.

Pill vs Belt…neither of them have actually won the job, or have they? Belt ripped thru lesser leagues and Pill raked in over 100 rbis in triple a. So far, Belt gets two hits in a game but no one has been able to drive him home or Pill homers of the bench. All that matters is a run in. Small size or not, whatever, just bring in a run.

BBQnBLUES

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!
was just listening to the bochy show on KNBR…bochy mentioned his mother had Alzhiemrs… how it was one of the hardest things he ever had to go through, watching his mom go through that.

I’m in that position now, taking care of my mom, with Alzhiemers, really sad, i still have my mom, and yet…it’s not her,not even a hint of the woman i call mom and love so much…

SO, HAVE A HAPPY ONE, APPRECIATE YOUR MOMS WHILE YOU CAN…AS LONG AS YOU CAN!!!

you don’t get a second chance

2012 lets go!

I see where both of you guys are coming from but ultimately it’s Boch’s decision. Of course Posey is gonna lobby to play every game. Boch seems out of touch here. There was no way I thought Posey would play this many games at this point in the season. He absolutey needs more rest, that was a crazy injury. Being in the squat? He’s being a soldier. Boch needs to get a better feel of the condition of his players.

I don’t want to see any more Posey at 1b for a while. He’s not hitting as well anymore and honestly we really need Belt out there from a defensive standpoint. The rest of the infield is so shaky that we need his presence there. Pill isn’t crushing the ball and there’s no way he should be in Left field again. That play changed the whole game, we can’t risk something like that again. Let Pill PH off the bench. If you play Nate I would sit Pagan. Blanco needs to stay our leadoff hitter. He set the tone with that first walk.

OMT

Yeah, Zenchi better have been doing some serious mediation, kundalini, aikido, or whatever he does to get ready, last night.

Atlas

@JD4SF May 13th, 2012 at 12:37 pm

Good points, especially the perspective on stats.

BleedBlack&Orange

ACtually DNF, studies show that vocal chord development ceases in the early stages of life preventing speakers from prnouncing certain sounds in ohter languages. That is a fact. I do agree that they should try to pronounce the name in Spanish but maybe they don’t want to make a mistake and feel stupid so they simply pronounce how they would in English. I’m an English teacher in Mexico so I know that people can be very self concious about speaking pronunciation.

Observationist

2012 lets go!: I have to ask you what makes you think you know more about Posey’s condition than the manager does? Are you friends with Buster? Has he told you how he feels? Has he told you he’s not 100% but just being a good soldier? Really, how is it you know more than the manager, the coaches and the trainers?

SurfCity

It’s not bigotry, it’s simply ignorance. Someone who is bilingual and fluent could pronounce names like Smith and Jones as well as Arias and Gonzalez. Someone who is not bilingual and fluent – whether they speak English or Spanish – may have trouble pronouncing names from the other language, or pronounce them with an accent.

It’s not bigotry in most cases – it’s simply ignorance of the other language

David Vaughn

Belt can hit major league pitching if given the chance. He needs to play everyday for a month straight in order to get some confidence. Bochy mishandles young players in a bad way. Remember when Posey was brought up? Sabien had to trade Molina in order to force Bochy’s hand into playing him at catcher 6 out of 7 games and he excelled. Belt has nailed some balls this week and the shot he hit last night was hit very hard. His reward? On the bench again. I find it funny that the shot he hit last night was against a left hander too and he has a great hitting record against today’s starting pitcher.

On the other hand, I see why Bochy is playing Pill given the lack of power in the lineup. I believe that if Belt gets 400 ABs this year he can hit 15-20 home runs given his past power numbers, but he can’t play one of every three games and get his timing down. He’s pressing right now to try and hit for power and he’s pull happy. He should be hitting to the middle of the field (gap to gap) and the power will eventually come.

Lefty

Cool story about Charlie Culberson’s whole family jumping on a plane to see his first major league start and his mom and pregnant wife being there for Mother’s Day. Also love that he’s a second generation Giants’ prospect.

Happy Birthday, Z! Go Giants!

Lefty

I’m bummed that Belt didn’t get the start, too, but on the plus side, I’m glad Pill is at 1B instead of LF.

Only outfielders playing outfield!

Observationist

Yawn.

GRRRRR!!!!!! Belt needs a chance. Why won’t Bochy give Belt a chance? Young players need a chance to play consistently.

GRRRRRR!!!!! Why does Bochy keep playing Crawford??? Error after error after error. He needs to be benched!

And so on and so forth.

Nameless Bob

Spanish pronunciation is very consistent unlike English or French. It is easy to figure out with just a wee bit of instruction. I don’t speak Spanish but I can pronounce the written words. Also, why doesn’t someone correct Keiper?

BleedBlackand Orange – are you saying Keiper is physically incapable of making the “Ahh” sound? He makes the sound just find at the end of his name, why not the first? Fellow Anglo John Miller must have told him by now. The problem is a lot of people will now call him “ari-ee-ahs” because that’s what Keiper called him so that must be right. It’s not.

Nameless Bob…I wasnt suggesting that at all. I was merely pointing out a fact. I think he should try to pronounce it correctly.

SurfCity

Nameless Bob – hear what you’re saying.

On the other hand, I’ve heard Jon Miller interview players with Spanish names and use the correct pronunciation – different than how most others pronounce it – and then the player has said they are fine with either pronunciation.

Like you, I can pronounce names in proper Spanish. But not everyone can. And as I said in my earlier posts, I think it’s incorrect to equate the latter with bigotry. In most cases it is ignorance and accent. What I can’t do is trill my R’s – a skill necessary for speaking proper Spanish and Italian, as I didn’t learn to do so at a young age.

I know fluent English speakers from other countries. Living in the US and Canada, they make a point to pronounce foreign words (from their own language) the way Americans and Canadians pronounce them, in order to speak English as it is spoken by those around them. Others may make the choice to pronounce the foreign word as it is pronounced in its country or origin. Either is a valid choice and neither is a bigoted choice, in my opinion.

And by the way, the last syllable of “Kuiper” pronounced in English and the first syllable of “Arias” pronounced in Spanish are actually different sounds.

Vegas Giants Fan

@ BBQnBlues

Culberson was considered a compensatory pick. Teams that lost a Free Agent
were given an additional pick based on the type of Free Agent lost. These picks were in the “sandwich round” between the first and second rounds.

HuffHuffPass

The echo of “Crawford needs to play everyday” still rings in my ears. I called for it too. He’s less than 30 games in and we want him benched.

Belt has gotten a decent amount of opportunity this year and hasn’t seized 1B. He’s doing alright, but we need power at that position. Without Posey and Panda in there it makes sense to put in Pill.

But still we hear “Belt needs to play everyday.”

This lineup makes sense. Stop complaining.

Livefree

How in the world does Cody Ransom have a career … we’ll always have him to thank for helping to flush away the 2004Giants season

Sure thing. As long as you look up courtesy too. You might want to look up bigotry too.

Lead Dog

Wow four hit bats men in two days. Rest all game PLEASE mr Posey.

OMT

Wow, Zenchi digs into his Ninja skills again. Giants will still need at least 6 runs to win today.

avwh

Cody frickin’ Ransom has 4 HR in 40 AB??

Drug testing, please…..l

Stan

Playing baseball in Arizona on a sunny spring day..and its dark. Closed domes in midday are so wrong. There is an architectural answer…The Diamondbacks should have seeked it.

livefree

Can nothing be done about teams wearing black when black is not one of the team’s colors? The AZ uniforms are ridiculous … they’re wearing the Giants’ color.

Unless you want to say that black is every team’s color … so then the Giants are just orange?

Oh, and the real Zito is back, apparently

avwh

The wild Zito is back; this is about to get real ugly…..

Wineguy

I though J.Sanchez was traded to KC? What’s he doing on the mound for us today?

OMT

livefree, I totally agree with that black uniform thing you just stated. It’s all in the name of marketing and money, isn’t it though? Bunch of cr@p.

Dario Argento

That new kid fits right in…he didn’t work the count like his big league teammates.

avwh

Crawford is tied for the club league in doubles, which makes him the anti-Burriss. 😉

dnf

83:
SurfCity:
DUH? I don’t have any problems because I can pronounce English names correctly. You Anglos owe me the courtesy NOT bigotry. Your reverse BS is MOOT, period, GOT IT?

Stewie

Viva! Blanco!

http://yAhoo mario

I know exactly how some of you feel my name is mario and certain races pronounce my name as mary-o. Can’t stand it. Go Giants.

BBQnBLUES

thx Vegas, i guess i get it?.

livefree

Um … nice job Arias … except we’re taking a pitch there so that that single drives in a run with Blanco at second. Sheesh

OMT

2 out knock? Say it IS so!

livefree

Some beautiful stuff here … if Joe Slopders is going to throw pus on the outside corner all day, you slap it right.

What team are we watching!? Way to go

OMT

Like the commercial says… “and a 3 run dong once in a while” well… would have been nice.

BBQnBLUES

mario, do you politely correct people? if not give it a try…dnf…words are not nearly as important as actions…

SpeierFuentes

O & B,

Ridiculous? fully one quarter of his hits were in fact “gifts” and to his putting the ball in play…what is his SO percentage? I believe it’s 26%. Considering he’s not supplying any power whatsoever that ain’t very good.

I too want to see him play everyday if just to put an end to the whining once and for all.

Wineguy

Two runners go first to third on singles, can’t recall the last time we’ve seen the Giants do that! I like it.

Wineguy

Make that three times!

Lefty

OK, SpeierFuentes & Observationist, we all get it. YOU HATE BELT. Did he dump your sister before the prom or something?

Belt is ON THE BENCH. Not playing. You should be happy!

Maybe enjoy the guys who ARE playing? I am.

Wineguy

Good call on the squeeze.

Rusty

Make it hurt Blanco.

GiantsBro

Please don’t bring up any more minor league hitters. They all suck. Culberson can’t even bring in the run from 3rd. Pathetic.

Wineguy

I’m confused. What is that odd shaped number up on the score board?

OMT

Blanco the Brilliant!!

Lead Dog

it turn exactly two ab’s for peep to dump on Charlie. LOL

Rusty

That’s a little harsh. It’s not like he pulled a Huff and rolled over to second.

Rusty

*check that – short

Andres The Forever Giant

Viva Rosa Tiburon Blanco! Keep that pink bat; it’s a gamer!

CB

I love Blanco. Guy is starting to want that everyday RF job. I think we found ourselves a leadoff hitter. But man 2 for 3 with two timely hits and 3 RBI’s. It’s something our lineup and team has been missing for awhile.

Anyways, I like this new look, young infield. Only thing, Belt needs to be there everyday at 1B but I like how Culberson looks and he hit that ball hard, unproductive out but yeah got the runners over and set it up for Crawford to get walked, Zito to not get into DP and for Blanco to either get the timely hit or leave 3 runners on base. And Blanco got that timely hit. Gotta love it. Go Giants. Now were starting to play some baseball.

Somebody pls let Boch know to take Zito out @ the 90 pitch count. No matter what inning.

GiantsBro

Blanco ain’t brilliant. He always starts off hot and then sucks completely. He’s a streaky player.That’s why he’s a journeyman. But they should still play him while he’s hot is not like they have any better option. Same with Schierholtz, when he is hot, play him.

But after the season, they should DFA both of them with Burriss.

JC

A little early to start bashing on Culberson, guy just called up. Give him a game to settle in and see how he fares afterward before making judgment. He has a better look on him than Burriss or Theriot did as a veteran player. So anything is more coming from that 2B spot. Just a change. Blanco doin work today. 2 for 3 with 3RBI as the leadoff man. Hmmmmmm…..

OMT

GiantsBro = killjoy

We’re just celebrating today… “bro”

But it’s not over… Zenchi is still pitching. 90 pitch count limit? YES

Atlas

I’m off to some open houses, but we got ourselves 4 runs. So, a little defense will go a long way. Bummed I’m gonna miss the weekly window where we debate on when and how to relieve Zeets, but I’m hoping when I check in later we’ve held on. (and Culberson’s got his first major league hit

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

The one who needs blasting is Gibson. They intentionally walked Crawford with Zito on deck and only 1 out. Wow.

Where’s DBACKS?

Lefty

JC: Give Culberson “a game” to settle in? Just one?

OMT

Warm up the BP

Lefty

DBACKS got busted for breaking curfew last night and lost his computer privileges.

OMT

Yep, need at least 6 runs to win this one

2Fold

And the old Zito is baaaack!!’

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Atlas, when you carry the world on your shoulders, you can’t just wonder off and hope for the best.

JC

Zito looked like he didn’t have it from the get go. Gotta read that as a manager. But now damage is done, still winning 4-3. Gotta hope to get one more inning out of Zito and then hand it off to bullpen: Affeldt, Hensley, Lopez, Romo, and Casilla. Crawford looking solid at SS. Gotta live and die with him there. Other than that, gotta scrap some more runs and get some breathing room for Zito and bullpen.

OMT

The aberration or Zito doing well in the beginning of 2010 and now 2012 is the batters haven’t warmed up to the season yet. Jeez… do we REALLY have to endure Zito until October 2013?

HuffHuffPass

The Melkman always knocks twice.

OMT

Buh-Bye!

HuffHuffPass

Belt should play over Pill? Good lineup Boch. Well done.

JC

Pill-aging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PResence.

E12Dog

I know it has nothing to do with the outcome of the game, but I wish they wouldn’t show stats like “shutdown inning %” until after the pitcher is out of the inning. Don’t the production guys know that is a total jinx?!?

OMT

Love/Hate when Big Head is right!

2Fold

Swallow that Pill Snakes!!!

CB

Can tell you thing, On base machine Belt cannot do that. That is Pill’s game right there. All his home runs are timely!

@mario Zito will be around for only one more inning then hand it off to the bullpen. Zito has been off since the get go but now he has been battling and just weathering the storm.

Dario Argento

@4SeamSuzie…what does the Magic 8 Ball say today????

4SeamSuzie

LOL Mom needs a Valium.

Let’s Get Free

Brett Pill: 3 home runs in 44 at bats this year

Brandon Belt: 0 home runs in 65 at bats this year

That’s a reminder for everyone who whines when Belt sits while Pill plays.

HuffHuffPass

Congrats Charlie!

livefree

NOW can we get the camera out of the stands!?

4SeamSuzie

Dario – Yes, definitely!

dnf

Did he dump your sister before the prom or something? I love it! Don’t mess with the feisty Trojan lady!

CB

Culberson gets his first major league hit. That was an amazing moment, meaningless hit or not as far as game outcome, but family in the stands, against the Snakes. Awesome! Go Giants. Zito give me one more inning and then hand it off to our revamped bullpen and some reinforcements returning.

http://yAhoo mario

Yeah good call CB I think your right on that. It’s just that you can’t go to the bathroom and come back without Zeets giving up runs or runners in scoring posistion.

4SeamSuzie

Got Goldy…yeah!

JC

Grab some pine Goldschmidt!

deceptively athletic perfect for the system

we need to stop goin for the high fastball in 0-2 or 1-2 counts. That only works if the pitcher has dominating stuff. They need to keep it low. Plus it always seems to make the pitcher has trouble keeping it down after that.

OMT

93 pitches. Hook please!

Atlas

Don’t worry Cow. Man, baseball is so bad for my productivity sometimes. I was biting my nails and never left. Good job Pill. Is that back-to-back games with HRs from the power right-hander? Congrats Culberson!

CB

Zito battling. Love his effort and determination this year. He never stops competing this season. Might have earned himself another inning and through the roughness might end up being a quality start. Again our pitching is consistent, bullpen is getting healthy and offense is starting to click as pieces come together.

Dario Argento

@OMT…yup, Zito got his five innings in…time to grab some pine now and quit tempting fate.

Mrs. Culberson is a gamer babe from Half Moon Bay. Definitely a looker. Surprised Krukow hasn’t jokingly said that yet. Since the camera is on them every inning or so.

OMT

Did you and Zito make a double deal with the Devil? Well… thanks!

Lead Dog

Do we make it a WHOLE team effort and get nate and Belts in there for defense?

CB

@OMT @CB Hook, Please? Zito has been pitching well all season. Had a rough start but ended up being a quality start. Battle when you don’t have your best stuff and Zito indeed did.

Anyways, Cabrera is on fire!

Lefty

Suzie: Finally, someone asks an important question. Crawford has that Stamos thing going. CC has a Matthew McConoghey (sp?) look. Both not bad. Both expecting with their lovely young brides.

All very good for the gene pool, I think.

2012 Let’s Go

In this crappy season there’s been some silver linings altho few and far between. 4 out of our 5 pitchers have given us a great chance of winning. The 5th is a 2 time Cy Young winner. Defense has absolutely killed us. We can all agree the error total does not reflect how bad our d has been. Screwed up bunt plays, double play balls, and misjudgment in the outfield. This started last year and if it continues much longer at some point Boch will have to be accountable because it’s happening under his watch

stewie

Melky is playing like he wants to get PAID. We need to keep this guy

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

With a three run lead, I let Zito have one more base runner if he looks like he’s still up for it (from in the dugout, up close). I am not comfortable with our bullpen for 3 innings unless, not in AZ. I’d see if Barry can get through another 3 hitters. Anything before one runner gets on is gravy.

Andres The Forever Giant

#SignMelkyNOW

CB

@JC Yes at me as well OMT, Hook, please? I was thinking that Zito would get the hook after 5 but proved me wrong. Guy battled and finished 6 innings and a quality start. Now our bullpen needs to finish the job and offense keep putting it on the snakes. Go Giants

http://yAhoo mario

4seamsuzie that’s a good call, the giants probably have the most handsome players in all of baseball who can’t play worth a crap. I’m very secure in my manhood so I can say that.

OMT

CB, yeah I watch all the games, sometimes twice. Zito has been stelar this year. Doesn’t mean I don’t see eggshells spread all around the mound at all times. Don’t you get nervous? If you don’t, you are a better man than I.

Wineguy

Any word on why Kemp came out of the Game in LA? Assuming hamstring.

JC

@stewie

Hopefully Giants don’t let him walk over money like we did Beltran and look at what Beltran is doing this year thus far. Better lock up Cabrera before it gets late.

JC

HECTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CB

@OMT Ahh, I used to get nervous with him but I learned to not expect much or anything from him anymore. I indeed am more nervous on how our offense and lineup is going to do on a daily basis, especially with runners on base. But I don’t get nervous with any of our starters, whether they had a rough one or good one. They have all been consistent and its a long season so you’re going to have some bad ones this year. But it is how deal with adversity and how you battle with what you have on that given day.

But I like this lineup tonight. Posey has been struggling, Belt is showing no Power. I applaud him for getting a productive out on a rollover groundout and his OBP. But yeah I like Pill’s Presence in a lineup where we lack power and Pill does possess that,

4SeamSuzie

Mario – Hopefully Charlie will turn out to be beauty and a beast. And with his wife in the stands it’s eye candy for all.

OMT

I have yet to see a pro athlete or a rich man w/o a hot wife. Yawn.

4SeamSuzie

Lefty – Seriously, these folks are soap opera good looking. But I’ll take ugly that can hit over pretty faces striking out any day. But easy on the eyes they are.

OMT

I love to voyeur as much as the next guy, but talking about it is as old as granite to me.

http://yAhoo mario

I could not have said it any better 4seamsuzie. Well done.

dnf

Matthew McConaughey Trojan lady. BTW he’s a former TX longhorn!

GiantsBro

Am not rich and am dating Gigi Meyer, she is the daughter of Urban Meyer by the way.
She is way hotter that Culberson’s wife.

4SeamSuzie

Pat the Bat!

OMT

Bro,

I never said an ugly dude couldn’t get a hot chic. The rub here is almost all rich guys CAN no matter what they look like. Thanks for bragging though… uh, I guess.

OMT

Perfect use of the Huff Daddy

CB

There’s Huff. Popup like that. Out. Thanks for hitting.

GiantsBro

@OMT

Nah, take it easy. I wasn’t bragging but there is still chance for the not rich or famous to get or date attractive girls.

Most of those women just go for the fame and money. And usually it ends up in divorce.

Lefty

dnf: Thanks–I was watching the game and too lazy to look it up. I remember the USC/Tex Nat’l championship game a few years ago…MMc was the celebrity cheerleader and Will Ferrell for ‘SC. Ugh, that’s a BAD memory!

dnf

191:
You get the giant [TESTOSTERONE] trophy, Mr. Endowed! No silicone(!)?

4SeamSuzie

Huff has become a complete enigma to me. Is he OK? Is he going to be OK? Are players allowed to take certain anti-depressents? I hope so because some people really need them. I want the best for Huff but if he’s just going to be trotted out there just because….

I don’t know how I feel about it.

OMT

Basically that’s what I just said. My point is in response to those that keep referring to pro ball players having trophy wife’s like it’s a rare thing. It’s not. Most if not all of them do, because they are pro or rich. It may just be me, but it bores me. Like I said I will voyeur with the best of ’em. Sorry if I mis-understood you.

OMT

Melky Caliente!!

livefree

Sabre guys will be all over Melky as his BABIP skyrockets

Lead Dog

Melky now leads the league it hits!!!

dnf

200:
Are you politicking for the [TESTOSTERONE] trophy as well? Don’t forget the “mood” enhancers!

Andres The Forever Giant

#SIGNMELKYNOW. That is all!

OMT

dnf,

I ain’t rich. And I don’t look like Crawford.

dnf

201:
I thought you told us you are the hot pepper!

Lead Dog

What a beast Cabrera is going to be with Panda hitting behind him.

Lead Dog

Have u cast your all-star vote for Melky today?

SFGiantsTommy

Damn…check out the sleds on Romo!

Andres The Forever Giant

Romo makes BWeez proud … he’d be ALL pink today!

4SeamSuzie

I’m wowed today…

Arias’s throws are just so graceful and amazing..

Snake bite? Pour Melk on it!

Zito held on.

Pill is powerful.

Come on, G-men, let’s finish ’em!

4SeamSuzie

Uno mas!

Lead Dog

Not a ball hit out of the infield against the pen today.

OMT

Snakes batters just couldn’t get there eyes off those shoes!

OMT

Chase Field jinx officially ovah!

http://yAhoo mario

Romo is a funny guy isn’t he?

BBQnBLUES

3-3 road trip…there must be some mirrors around here somewhere…

WTG G=MEN

Stan

Nice win..a Giant dream. Pitching,Zito pitching,hitting,goood defense…and pink bats-you notice they never break? Haven’t seen on yet ever since they started the cancer drive.

Grey Warden

Romo is just dealin! That slider is just plain crazy the way it moves.

Nate’sFanMom

Brandon Crawford is inept?

El Lobo

Romo: 10 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 K. Wow!

Grey Warden

Stan, one of the pink bats from the Giants broke earlier in the game. I forgot who broke one, but it was a base hit that scored a run.

Nate’sFanMom

Told you the guys would sanp out of their team-wide slump.

Tomorrow: Posey!

OMT

Blanco broke a pink bat

ClutchUp

Whew Had to go back to the Post Titled Saturday’s Line Up. Been out of town with zero Wi-Fi. It’s almost better/funnier to not be able to post every 15 seconds or 275 times per day. Gave me a chance to read the Speier/Fuentes vs. TWC – which was similar to last year’s Mitchvman vs. Mavo in the regards that both of you add knowledgeable baseball specific items, but I would add that it is NOT difficult to watch a poor game or a plane crash and then comment as to what “should have happened”….

The Bochy this and Bochy that stuff is ad-nauseum. I was never a fan of his In Game Tweaks but since I can’t effect his employment – why should I try. Players Play. Any player in the Show is Good. Bochy has not leaned on or pushed any of his players to fold their tent nor has he put pressure on anybody. In the Fall & Winter of every year…. players meet at ATT and listen to Dunstan, Bonds, Clark, Snow, Aurilla and others talk about what it is to be a major leaguer and what it means to be a Giant. Crawford, Belt, Burriss et al have all been THROUGH that ladder-rung of their maturation.

Bochy:
Does NOT make up the LU while visiting the restroom, hate to ruin it for about 12 posters who his name disgusts. There is a Coaches meeting room at home and on the road that is window-glass-less. Flannery, Wotus, Kelly, Lefevbre, Muelens, Raggs, Gardy, Billy Hayes and Bochy all have a pre-arranged time to meet with all provided clipboards/binders with ARZ/whomever stats/splits etc. Included in the data is injury, colds, illnesses, muscle-pulls and call-up info.

Crawford:
Hate to pop anybodies bubble. Crawford might suffer a down and up trip to Fresno but he is the SS as evidenced by those who mentioned Chris Speiers horrible first year. Also sorry to mention that it is not his hands but rather his pre-ball arrival “setup” of his lower body. Infielders are taught a technique called “Quick-Slow-Quick” or “Hurry-Slow-Down-Hurry”. Currently Crawls 35 is over thinking/not pre-pitch-thinking, zigging when he should be zagging. He is NOT staying BEHIND the baseball like GOOD MIF’s do. He will figure it out.

Belt:
Here to stay but won’t play every day until 2013. Just move past it or you will make yourself ill.

Pill:
I see he Homered today on a day many said “he should not have played” ———- “its called baseball”. Brett the Threat should never be made to play the OF again though.

Burriss:
He’s gone SO LONG without an extra base hit that I DO think those who say he is in jeopardy are correct. The Nat’s would be a good home for the DC native.

Arias:
Fearless. Probably a better SS than Crawford on any given day, but he is the 3rdbaseman until 48 returns. A former Texan and Yankee – he possesses an amazingly accurate throwing arm. Learned LOTS from Derek Jeter!

Blanco:
Exhilarating. Takes ones breath away. Should start or get in – in every game; however he TOO will have moments where he won’t be able to sniff a hit. Starting Opposing Pitchers who will have their way with Blanco and then Please lay off his momentary negative numbers whenever “it” happens.

Nate:
Will have his opportunities. He’ll live with it but many here will need to add that this or that should be done with him. Do PEOPLE actually watch/know the game? Some regulars are using words like DFA/Release with players that are going nowhere. Same posters are trying to acquire a Big Bat in May? WTF? Where, How? With Whom? Muelens is going No Where. The Giants have no business DNA that would include such maneuvers!?!

Centerfield/Pagan: Melky is probably the most clinically sound outfielder who runs – fields and throws with aplomb and thus he could be our BEST Centerfielder but is needed in the corners…currently. Pagan takes weird routes to some balls and okay routes on others. Rowand and Torres took better routes on balls at ATT. On the road Pagan plays CF better than he does at ATT.

Posey (Shingles) The Med staff would be liable if he was (still) playing with Shingles. Posey is just exhausted at times because simply put he missed a ton of time with a bad injury, long rehab and YIKES a KID who has YET to play one full season. Leave HIM alone and enjoy and marvel when he looks like a natural and just go to “the next play” when he fails. Don’t HARP on it. The Opposing pitcher wins 7 out of 10 times at bat with our guys. Simply put – “Pitching” is disrupting the timing of a “Batter”. Get a hitter on his FRONT foot and it is popped up or a medium deep fly ball. Get OVER it… Look up the Astros local SF Bay Area kid Jason Castro (catcher) and the injury he suffered … or the Angels catcher/DH or hurt himself jumping up in the air celebrating a walk off HR…. or the former BoSox/Tiger player Martinez who suffered bad injuries.

Sanchez, H:
Enjoy everything about him and turn away when he fails. Its baseball.

Sanchez, FL
Sigh, we NEED him if we are going to post season but ~ ~ ~ now his back is hurting

Closing Arguments: Kudos to TotalFan62 and Dinero (and others surely) who remain resolved as SF Giant Fans without individual bitterness and personal rip-jobs towards players who are having/continue to have bad performances. IMO Crawford’s bunt was BAD due to execution. Krukow never drag bunted in his life. The element of surprise plus PROPER placement would have stirred our souls had Crawls35 succeed. Sometimes people should just observe the individual failures and just “look away” – albeit disappointed.

Shout out to all the Young Female Bears, Mother-Mama Bears, Gamer Babes from Half Moon Bay and any Female associated with Motherhood and anyway shape or form. Without ya’ll = we Male Bears would not be walking the earth.

Nice Win Today
Heh
Heh
Heh

Stan

I wish I had seen it. Did it break into a sharp shard? THAT’s one reason Maple thin handled bats are so dangerous.

totalfan62

Nice. Two outta three in AZ puts an end to that streak and re-establishes that we can win here.

Back home for a seven-game homestand. Let’s go 5-2–minimum.

Good offense today, boys. Way to keep the line moving.

GO GIANTS!!

Nate’sFanMom

What happened to that Diamondbacks troll?

Grey Warden

Just saw the replay. Yah it was Blanco that broke a bat. Looked like a mini shrapnel explosion, but the bat didn’t break in to 2 pieces like they usually do.

OMT

Wow CC, +, Like, or whatever else means… Good one.

4SeamSuzie

DBACKS???

Nate’sFanMom

Clutch,

Freddy’s not coming back soon if ever.

Lead Dog

The giants god has spoken.

ClutchUp

CaptainObvious says: May 13th, 2012 at 12:18 pm The best players are not playing everyday as they should

Numbers are only there for “us” to accrue and dwell on AFTER game one is played and so on and so on. Numbers are necessary but players have to out execute the other team during various situations that come up within every innning of every game. Players play. Numbers follow.

Opposing Teams or the SF Giants whose lineups are made out via Stats Only = How Come Sometimes Those Teams Ever Lose…..

If you go 100-62 – I bet 75% of those 62 losses have lineups that follow ONLY LU’s that were based off of 100% stats…

4SeamSuzie

CU – Brett the Threat – love it!

ClutchUp

dnf says: May 13th, 2012 at 12:31 pm A practically unknown in front of Pagan no wonder Beltran left and Reyes did not want any part of this team besides being a stingy pockets organization not to mention these biased fans, go figure…

😉 and yet somehow….they won… Speier/Fuentes has stated 100% correctly that Sabean was trying to defend 2010 when he made the trade. Beltran never wanted to stay here, he and agent held Sabean hostage and Melky would not have been a Giant had we waited for The Latin_Sir_Carlos to make up his mind. Carlos is where he wanted to be all the time. With SF, first he asks Bochy for his Jersey number, then he uses his Met Team Bag for nearly 10 days.

Thank You Justin Christian

ClutchUp

dnf says: May 13th, 2012 at 12:41 pm Crawford is babied, idolized and pampered error after error. Pagan is chastised the second he sneezes the wrong way=hypocrisy alright…

DnF: STOP with the white/latin references. We adore Melky. We hated on Rowand….

Either ones play is liked, loved or ignored…

Nate’sFanMom

No Youk! He isn’t pretty enough.

Lead Dog

Clutchup,

Melky didn’t sign as a FA. You are comparing apples to oranges again.

OMT

CU at 4:15, Sorry referred to you as CC earlier. Anyway, agree with response to dnf. I’m German/English AND Spanish/Mexican and I love me some Melky Caliente and couldn’t wait for the Rownad ship to sail. Color of skin never matters, ever. It’s what’s between the lines that does.

ClutchUp

McCovey when he first came up had his name mis-pronounced…
Emmanuel Burriss used to be called Manny until Mother Burriss asked…
Tony Dorsett or Tony DorSett…
Willie Montañez or Willie Montanez….
David Alejandro Green Casaya or David Green… ’85 Giants…
Toh-may-toh or Tomato…

THought Zito pitched pretty well and nice to see him get a win on a day he didn’t have his best stuff. Makes up for those non-wins on the days he was sizzlin.

Rusty

When Romo is dealing like that I almost feel bad for the other team. It doesn’t seem fair.

Another gutsy performance from Zito. Goldschmidt with three strikeouts was icing on the cake.
The Pill vs. Belt debates will rage on. There’s no right answer for the time being.

Side Note: Heath Bell had another 9th inning meltdown. This is starting to get weird.

Nate’sFanMom

Krukow remarked during the 4th inning that Bochy and the coaching staff talked to the players about Saunders and taking him the other way.

That’s what they need to do: Step in and give professional advice rather than letting the players dig a mental hole for themselves.

Yes, Boch, in the old days players were “men” and figured it out. But you’re not managing in the old days, and it looks like you’re “getting it.”

Nice adjustment by the manager.

Now stop being a grump and play Nate.

SurfCity

Lefty says:
May 13th, 2012 at 2:11 pm

OK, SpeierFuentes & Observationist, we all get it. YOU HATE BELT. Did he dump your sister before the prom or something?

Belt is ON THE BENCH. Not playing. You should be happy!

Maybe enjoy the guys who ARE playing? I am.

====

Throw in dnf and u got 3 guys that just want to be angry

Or is it one guy?

stickman

John Deere award for Romo today. Mowed em down with 3 k’s on ten pitches. Highest efficiency rating. No stress on the defense.

At .348 Melky is now at no lower than sixth in the batting race. Long season but he projects to be in there with hit upon hit.

Yes, Brett is a threat…and a bitter pill for opposing pitchers to swallow. One, maybe two starts per week, particularly in hitter-friendly venues. He’s never likely to have a particularly high BA or OBP and his defense skills at 1B are adequate. Major late inning threat off the bench with RISP.

Pagan: Batting deeper in the LU seems good for his psyche, but so far the players around him have not given him many run production opportunities.

Tiburon Blanco: Becoming the prototypical leadoff man as he does know how to get on base and becomes a flabbergasting threat once he’s on first ~or second for that matter.

Zito: Projecting now as a decent #4 starter. He struggled and had a high pitch count, but remember this one was held in the SnakePit. If he can go 3 in six there, he should be good most everywhere.

Affeldt: Great to see him back and doing the job he handles so well.

Culberson: Nice to see Charlie get his first ML hit in his first appearance in The Show. Waaaay too early to tell, but it could be a sign of nice things to come.

After a scary start in that first game in LaLaLand and then losing game three there and game one in the desert, things were looking bleak. These guys may have begun to jell as a team and are getting into the habit of picking each other up. To go 3-3 on a road trip against your two primary divisional opponents is a sign of a team which can get it together. The fact that this happened after the Miami/Sandoval twin disasters indicates that a team centered on platinum pitching can win with solid defense and a bit of spark at the plate.

LaBumbos clocked Colorado at home again today, but they are playing over their heads, particularly their 3-5 starting pitchers and 6 of their 8 position players. It is a long season. Pablo should return around the beginning of June and Freddy is still a question mark, but if nothing else may be available for PH duties at about the time Sandoval is back ~ or he could be traded to an AL team as a DH.

Good for the Giants to be going home on a positive note.

ClutchUp

Lead Dog says: May 13th, 2012 at 4:19 pm Clutchup,Melky didn’t sign as a FA. You are comparing apples to oranges again.

Please explain…
Had SF waited for Beltran to decide, Melkyy would have (possibly) signed somewhere else.
I would rather have Melky than Beltran. Preferring that we had both is not realistic. Never would have happend.

You differ?

ClutchUp

Note: Sanchez for Melky trade needed to be done before Beltran made up his mind….

Lefty

Stickman,

Nice summary. Also, Kemp left the game in the third, apparently having aggravated the hammy. I don’t wish an injury on anyone, even a Fodger, but if he’s out for any time, we’ll learn more about that team.

dnf

242:
Guillermo Montañez from Cataño, Puerto Rico. He was great tack and field athlete in HS.

Nate’sFanMom

@Surf

The guys (& gals) who hate on the Brandon boys are are members of the Cult of Nate Hate.

Nate’sFanMom

And heck, yeah, Melky over Beltran.

dnf

241:
I’d like to believe you but I can NOT buy into it.

Lead Dog

No I Don’t differ.

I’ll take Melky and Bourn over any two outfielders.

Just saying Melky wasn’t a FA.

Lead Dog

The real deal is:

Beltan=13mil

Melky and Pagen = 10.8mil

Lead Dog

However, I do disagree with if F. Sanchez cant play the field maybe we could use him as a ph. Really. Carry a guy to just ph?

dnf

253:
I do NOT hate Brandon Crawford. It bothers me like I said before that Crawford gets continually babied, idolized and pampered error after error, strikeout after ground out etc. Pagan sneezes the wrong way and he gets chastised particularly when Pagan has done more for this club this season.

Lead Dog

that 10.8m we spent on Cabrera and Pagen doe not count the saving from not paying Torres, Sanchez and Ramon.

dnf

257:
PAGAN

Lead Dog

What? I’m suppose to yell it???

dnf

Lead Dog:
Are you dyslexic? PAGAN, GOT IT?

dnf

262:
You are supposed to spell correctly a two syllable name, genius.

Lead Dog

I had the left side of my face blow out in Iran. So if I mis spell a word or a name pls bear with me.

Lead Dog

Baseball blog not a spelling bee.

TheObvious

265: Is that when you switched the pronunciation of your name from “Leed Dawg” to “Led Dawg”?

Lead Dog

you didnt hurt my feeling, so dont run off. If you got something half reasonable to say about the giants, pls feel free.

Lead Dog

Thats funny, because I do live in GA.

dnf

Lead Dog:
I sincerely apologize. I love my fellow vets. You said Iran. Did you mean to say Iraq?
Semper Fi!

DBACKS

Goodnight everyone. Am going to have a threesome with a couple of Giants players wife’s

Lead Dog

No I mean Iran. And I to thank you for your service. GO Navy.

Woj

No Dot Romo is fantastic. The man can pitch. That no dot slider is just plain nasty!

DBACKS

Well get you all next time with Bauer instead of Trash Saunders and when Upton has heated up and Chris Young is back. You all will have Melky off of his lucky streak and Posey in the surgery room to repair his rotten ankle.

Go DBACKS

Giants suckkkkkk

HahahHagshaagafSahahagagF

Woj

@ Clutcup – Man this is a quick blog post. In and out – 2-3 paragraphs tops. Please don’t write another novel on the Giants and post it like today.

SurfCity

Wow – that threesome only lasted 5 mins, DBACK

dnf

275:
CU does it to get attention and to demonstrate his BB knowledge superiority.

Nate’sFanMom

The haha is on all of the Dback fans and press who thought their pitching staff was ACTUALLY better than ours.

No, dummy, next time Dbacks will get a hot Lincecum, rest and focused Posey, and Nate on one of his crazy hot streaks.

Enjoy your threesome with your other delusions.

Go Giants!

DBACKS

@276

One of them turned out to be Huff’s wife and shes just as finished as him and the other was Crawford’s one and she is in a sexual slump as he is in baseball.

Hahahaha

Am calling the rookie Mrs Culberson and Mrs Schierholtz she tends to go on hot streaks and lasts longer than 5mins

SurfCity

DBACKS, I’m thinking it might be more on you. I’m thinking the insecurities displayed in needing to post on another team’s board might carry over to other areas, you know?

Evan

Will Upton be out of his slump before or after Pujols is out of his? Will that be this season?

Quality starts for Zeets in Colorado, Cinci, LA and Arizona! Keep it up big guy and happy b’day!!!

Atlas

Some carryover responses that may have been buried in the previous thread (pre-game):

@Cow,

I’d ask you to “just stop” obsessing over this notion of a “plan.” I haven’t said anything about a “plan.” What I’ve been saying for weeks, if you’ll go back and re-read my opinions, is that this year’s current situation is NOT the way they drew it up. Obviously, plans have changed.

For the record, I’ve never heard Bochy say or read any statement penned by Bochy that conveys his desire to have Eli over Pill. Ever.

Please tell me how Bochy is refusing to “go young” today.

@Slash

Yes, you and I see things through completely different lenses. And, that’s very OK.

Like I said, I see Belt improving right now after a start that had a lot of people worrying a little. That’s awesome. I can pinpoint absolutely nothing negative about that. His numbers are going up. He’s starting to look more confident. He’s making better contact more frequently. He is doing the right things and even saying the right things. He’s developing. This is ALL good.

He is not whining. He’s not hanging his head down. He’s not regressing. He’s not caving to the tremendous pressure he could be feeling from the FANS.

The team has bigger problems.

http://nada paul in p.v.

Mario/Susie4Seams/Lefty – at the risk of encouraging certain pervs on the blog – since it’s Mother’s Day – Charlie’s Mom should also be recognized for her pulchritude! :o)

Lefty

Paul: agreed. Props to moms who can still rock it when they’re grandmas!

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Atlas, you earlier posts, saying things are not going as planned, suggest there was one in the first place. Your complete faith in Bochy is commendable, just not by me.

Walter Guest

Is it too early to talk extension for Zito?

(Only half kidding.)

Duh-BACKS

…he calls it a THREE-some when he uses either the left or right foot too!….must be a real limber fella!

Atlas

Cow,

I wouldn’t say I have complete faith in Bochy (I never said that, did I?). Your lack of faith in the Giants under Bochy and Sabean is impressive though. To have unwavering lack of confidence in someone takes something rather sentimental in nature to manifest. I can tell you’re a long-time fan… It’s similar to being in a long-term abusive relationship, I totally get that. However, you’re not a victim any more! I’ve heard your chorus for years and it sounds as old as the Giants of 2009. Honestly, no disrespect intended at all. On the contrary, you’re a very good follow.

http://3renfrews@comcast.net robin

We are at 500 with out closer and best hitter out. We have no consistent play from first or second and a patchwork outfield.Our best pitcher has not made a statement yet that he is back and our best player recovering from major surgery is out of sorts. I would say we are in good shape going forward with some serious opportunities to ramp up

ClutchUp

Woj says: May 13th, 2012 at 5:20 pm 254..@ Clutcup – Man this is a quick blog post. In and out – 2-3 paragraphs tops. Please don’t write another novel on the Giants and post it like today.

Woj: Apparently you haven’t subscribed to Anti-Lasorda or E-B’s posts. “You” got my one for the day vs. the normal 75 per day…

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